05-12-2016, 11:33 AM
I work odd hours and had a prescription for Ambien for three years. I quit taking it when my son was born and I knew I'd have to start waking up in the middle of the night.
It's a really messed up experience if misused. The key is to get into bed 15 or 20 minutes after ingesting it. You do that, and you're golden. However, if you do as I often did and stay up to experience the effects until it just plain shuts you down, that's when the shit hits the fan.
Here are some things I recall:
1. Seeing purple dots and moving figure-like shadows outside.
2. Smoking. I smoked when I took Ambien. Not during the day, not at any other time. Not as a habit. Just when on Ambien.
3. Eating insane amounts of food. I'd eat a block of cheese, a gallon of ice cream, and even once cooked 4 grilled cheese sandwiches and wrecked them.
4. I once shaved my head and eyebrows on Ambien.
5. I thought it was okay to call people at 5am.
6. I once took 3 rolls of paper towels and a giant mixing bowl into the bathroom. Once inside, I removed the towels from the rolls (all or them), soaked them in the sink, and crammed them into the bowl. I then attempted to make a spherical shape out of the towels to mirror the bottom of the bowl and make an even shape.
7. Facebook is a problem on Ambien. Had a lot of explaining to do after some insane and cryptic posts that sounded absolutely brilliant when I was on the drug.
Miraculously, nothing too consequential happened and my marriage/family/friends remained intact. I'll also add that Ambien nightmares are the absolute worst imaginable.
It's a really messed up experience if misused. The key is to get into bed 15 or 20 minutes after ingesting it. You do that, and you're golden. However, if you do as I often did and stay up to experience the effects until it just plain shuts you down, that's when the shit hits the fan.
Here are some things I recall:
1. Seeing purple dots and moving figure-like shadows outside.
2. Smoking. I smoked when I took Ambien. Not during the day, not at any other time. Not as a habit. Just when on Ambien.
3. Eating insane amounts of food. I'd eat a block of cheese, a gallon of ice cream, and even once cooked 4 grilled cheese sandwiches and wrecked them.
4. I once shaved my head and eyebrows on Ambien.
5. I thought it was okay to call people at 5am.
6. I once took 3 rolls of paper towels and a giant mixing bowl into the bathroom. Once inside, I removed the towels from the rolls (all or them), soaked them in the sink, and crammed them into the bowl. I then attempted to make a spherical shape out of the towels to mirror the bottom of the bowl and make an even shape.
7. Facebook is a problem on Ambien. Had a lot of explaining to do after some insane and cryptic posts that sounded absolutely brilliant when I was on the drug.
Miraculously, nothing too consequential happened and my marriage/family/friends remained intact. I'll also add that Ambien nightmares are the absolute worst imaginable.
